Wrongful Accusations
by Cassiopeia88
Summary: Harry will stop at nothing to find the person who has threatened his best friend's life. In order to protect her, he warily tasks an unlikely ex-classmate to keep her safe.
1. Chapter 1

Wrongful Accusations

Chapter 1

 _Hermione Granger,_

 _I know what you and your company did. I will make you pay for what happened. Your greed took a life and you will answer for it._

Harry read the note through three times before he looked up at his best friend sitting across his desk from him. Hermione looked pale and shaken. She'd said that she'd found the note among her other mail that morning when she arrived at her office.

"Your assistant doesn't know who sent this?" he asked.

"No. It came in with a bunch of letters. I usually have her sort them, but this morning I was in early so I just had her give them all to me," she explained.

Harry looked again at the note. He wasn't sure how to handle this. This was clearly a serious threat on Hermione's life and she needed protection. He already knew she would fight his suggestion to hire a bodyguard for her. He would do it himself, but at that moment he had just taken over as Head of the Aurors Office and it wasn't possible to leave all his other responsibilities to spend every moment guarding Hermione. Plus, she would never let him.

"I want someone with you until this unsub is caught."

"Harry, you know I can take care of myself. I don't want someone following me around. Who knows how long this will take?"

"Finding this person is my top priority right now. This is only temporary. They won't be with you forever. I know you're capable, but even you don't have eyes in the back of your head. Please, just do this for me?"

She looked like she was about to argue, but then relented. "Fine. I'm lodging my official protest, but I am not going to continue arguing with you."

She got up and left his office.

Harry put his head in his hands and sighed. That went easier than he'd expected.

Harry called his assistant into his office and asked her to send an owl to The Evening Prophet to place an ad for personal security guards to apply to his office immediately. Information would be disclosed during the interviews starting tomorrow. Frankly, there wasn't enough time to find the perfect candidate, but Harry had no choice.

The next day, Harry interviewed the first batch of applicants. He didn't think any were up to the job and began to lose hope. He considered placing Hermione in a safe house somewhere, like Grimmauld Place or Shell Cottage.

He sighed and grabbed the next folder as the corresponding applicant walked in the door. When he looked up, he saw the last person he would have ever expected to come voluntarily to his office.

* * *

Hermione started her day like any other. She was extremely busy with the end of the year and final quarter closing, and today she was also getting her—however much she would insist she didn't need one—bodyguard. Harry was bringing him to her office that morning so they could go over schedules and duties. Harry hadn't told her who it was, only that he thought he was the best person for the job.

When she arrived at her office, her assistant, Mary, was fidgeting and informed her Harry was already waiting inside for her. Hermione loved Mary. Mary Thomas was a middle aged woman who'd lost her husband a few years ago and had no children. She was gentle and kind, but got her work done quickly and efficiently.

Faintly wondering what was bothering Mary, Hermione collected her messages and letters, and with an encouraging smile for Mary, pushed open her office door to meet the person who would be stalking her for the foreseeable future. If she'd had any expectations about who she might see on the other side of the door, it was _not_ the person she found in the room, staring at her bookshelf.

Draco Malfoy himself stood in her office.

Confusion blurred her vision as she took him in. When the shock wore off a little, she caught sight of Harry, sitting on her couch along the wall opposite of her desk. His hands were clapped together in his lap and his legs were bouncing up and down. She opened her mouth, trying to formulate words as she stared at him, but he sprang up and rushed to explain.

"He was the best candidate for the job," he stammered out. "The others would have been useless and I didn't have time to keep looking. I wanted someone with you as soon as possible. This is only temporary, until we catch the unsub. You know that's my highest priority right now." His pleading look was the only reason she didn't protest.

She couldn't believe there wasn't anyone else Harry thought was qualified for the job. She couldn't believe that he had applied for the job, for that matter. She looked at Malfoy, still standing in front of the bookshelf, but now facing the two of them with his signature smirk on his face.

Though the smirk was not new, she noticed other changes since the last time she'd seen him. At his trial, he'd been thin and worn out, much like how he looked at the Battle of Hogwarts. Now, he was more filled out and his skin was no longer sickly pale. His hair was still the same blinding blonde, but he wore it shorter now. His eyes hadn't changed of course; they were still the piercing grey she remembered from their days in school. His attitude hadn't changed, either.

"Granger, if you don't want me to be your… bodyguard, just say so. I'm the best person for the job, but I won't stay where I'm not wanted," Malfoy stated with clipped tones.

Without acknowledging him, she turned to Harry. "You honestly think this is a good idea?" she asked.

"There wasn't much time. If it doesn't work we can find someone else, but for now, he really is the best we have," he explained.

"Harry, I still think that you are overacting! I _am_ able to take care of myself," she said with her chin aimed up.

"Hermione, please just try for me. He's really not that bad anymore," Harry pleaded.

Malfoy scoffed at that and cut into their conversation. "Oh, don't mind me at all."

Hermione threw him a glare and Harry blinked at him as though he'd forgotten he was there.

"Well Malfoy," she said icily, "if you think you can handle spending every minute with me and following me around, there are a few rules and procedures I'd like to go over with you. You may change your mind." With that, she strode to her desk and took her seat.

* * *

Harry could tell that this was going to be difficult as he and Draco sat down opposite Hermione. Hermione looked flustered and clearly still didn't trust Malfoy. Malfoy was acting his usual arrogant self and making the situation more difficult than it needed to be. By the end of this, if there was an end to it, Harry was going to need a long, stiff drink. As long as Malfoy did his job and kept Hermione safe, that was all that mattered.

Until they arrested the unknown subject responsible for the death threat, he privately swore he would go without sleep – not that Ginny, his fiancée, would allow that. But the longer it took, the more likely Hermione and Malfoy would end up killing each other.

* * *

Draco fumed.

She didn't think he was good enough to protect her, or she hated him still and wouldn't see past it. Either way, it stung to be doubted and the look on her face that said she would take _anyone_ else instead wasn't helping either.

He didn't understand why she would still hate him. He'd been cleared of all charges after the war, a decision that was heavily influenced by the testimonies of the very two people in this office. He rarely saw anyone from his old life anymore. The only friend he kept in contact with was Theo Nott. He rarely even knew what was going on in the wizarding world except for the occasional time he would read The Prophet if it was lying around.

With all his spare time, he practiced offensive and defensive magic, as well as learning some Muggle forms of offensive and defensive fighting. He'd felt weak and out of control while he was under Voldemort's powers and he never wanted to feel that way again.

Although he had no real experience protecting someone, he saw how his mother's guards protected her and he didn't think it would be that difficult. Though, in his defense, he only thought that _before_ he found out who it was he was charged with.

Granger was going over her schedule now. Draco noted that she worked a lot and rarely spent any time outside of work. He wasn't very surprised to hear this though. Harry piped in now and then to give him more information. He was to be with her six days a week, all day, with Sundays off, when she'd have Potter with her. They informed him that he would be staying at her house in a guest room. That gave him pause, but her house couldn't be _that_ bad.

They continued to go over every detail of the assignment. Potter made it very clear that he was to keep his identity hidden while out in public. People would have a fit if they saw Draco Malfoy following Hermione Granger around. When they were alone, such as in her office while she worked, Granger made it clear that she wished him to stay out of the way and to keep it more informal. She also informed him that she would be travelling in the near future, and unless the unsub was caught before then, he would be going with her.

After they finished going over everything, they both looked at Draco expectantly. He looked into Granger's eyes for what he thought must've been the first time. What he saw staring back at him startled him. He saw her fear and doubt. About him.

In that moment, he was overcome by the desire to prove Granger wrong about him. He would take this responsibility and he would keep her out of danger. Draco nodded at Potter in acceptance of their terms.

Potter stood from his seat and the others followed. He grasped Draco's outstretched hand and shook it.

"Keep her safe, Malfoy. I'm counting on you. Don't make me regret this," Potter said. After a quick hug from Granger, Potter walked out the door.

* * *

Author's note:

Sorry for the constant updates and changes to this story! I'm hoping that the following chapters will post much more smoothly now. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

A special thanks to the best, most helpful beta, Moot, for helping a new author and making this chapter better!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter or J.K. Rowling's work, just the plot to this story.

Chapter 2

An awkward silence descended as soon as the office door shut behind Harry. Draco looked sidelong at Granger who looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. His knee-jerk reaction was to walk out of there, but he consciously stopped himself, determined to prove them wrong. He was going to see this through.

Draco indicated the couch. "May I?" he asked.

He decided the best way to stay on her good side was to stay professional and courteous at all times. This strategy contradicted how he actually felt, but he didn't want to blow it on the first day with her. Hell, he didn't want to blow it in the first hour.

"Yes, that's fine," she said, sitting down at her desk.

He sat on the couch and examined her office again. When he'd first walked in, he thought her office looked like a small library. It was cozy, with a large fireplace and book shelves on every wall. Draco remembered Granger in school, seemingly always in the library or her face in a book. He wasn't surprised that she surrounded herself with them now.

As he continued surveying the room, he heard her clear her throat. He turned and found her staring at him. He'd expected to see her glaring, but she wasn't. Instead, she gazed at him, head tilted, for the briefest moment. She quickly looked back down at her desk and shuffled and reshuffled some papers with no apparent purpose.

"Er, you're welcome to read anything you find interesting. Or you can bring your own entertainment while I'm working. I spend a lot of time in here, so you'll probably need something else to do," she said.

He nodded, then stood. Looking up at one of the bookshelves, he went and picked out a book he hadn't read in a long time: _Hogwarts, A History_. He smiled to himself as he returned to the couch.

About to open to the first page, Draco heard a small gasp. His eyes flew up to find Granger staring at him again, but this time her eyebrows were raised and her mouth quirked open. She glanced down at the book in his hands.

He held it up and asked, "Is this okay for me to read?"

She shook her head as though she were saying no, then took a deep breath before saying, "Yes, you may read it, but that's my copy from school and there are a lot of notes written on the pages and in the margins."

Not caring if she wrote in the book or not, but more than a little curious to see what she wrote, Draco shrugged and opened the book.

* * *

Hermione couldn't believe it. She had hundreds of books in her office, many of them on very exciting subjects. But, out of all of them, he'd picked her favorite and most read book. She wasn't sure why that seemed to mean something to her, but it did, and that took her by surprise.

An hour later, after looking at the same document over and over again, she gave up trying to focus and decided she would finish up after lunch. She was having a hard time concentrating with him sitting there anyways.

Still pretending to work, she now snuck glances at Malfoy. She took in his appearance again, finally noticing what he was wearing: black pants, black dress shoes, a dark green sweater that was now pushed back to his elbows, and the collar of a white dress shirt under the sweater. She could tell they were all designer. He certainly didn't look like the stuck-up snob he used to be, but he still looked put together and professional. In fact, he looked exactly as she would want her temporary body guard to look: professional, because she was always in her office, but not too flashy as to draw attention to himself. He could blend in anywhere she went, in the office or out.

There was a knock on the door.

Hermione glanced at the door then back at Malfoy, who put the book down abruptly and met her gaze. She flushed at the thought that he might have caught her staring at him.

Draco sat very still, his right hand moved to his side, but Hermione knew it was only her assistant, Mary, at the door. Mary had already seen Malfoy come in but not leave, so there was no need to glamour him yet.

"Come in," Hermione called out.

Mary entered, shut the door behind her, and shot Malfoy a nervous glance as she approached Hermione's desk.

"Mary, this is Draco Malfoy. Malfoy, this is my assistant, Mary Thomas," she said gesturing between the two. She explained to Mary, "Malfoy will be here with me every day for… an undetermined amount of time. That is to say, until the person that sent that note we discovered yesterday is caught. You are not to tell anyone who he is, however, because that could compromise this situation. Amongst other people, he'll be disguised, wearing the same glamour every day. Please call him David if you need to address him while he's here. Do you have any questions?"

Mary's eyebrows shot upward. She looked at Malfoy who winked at her. Mary turned back to Hermione and shook her head. "No, I understand."

"Did you need something from me?"

"Oh right," Mary said, having forgotten the reason she came in. "Markus wants to meet with you right now. He's waiting outside."

Hermione exchanged a quick look with Malfoy and then said, "Give us five minutes, Mary, and then you can let him in."

As Mary left, Hermione quickly got up from her desk and moved towards Malfoy.

"We need to figure out how we'll glamour you," she said as she approached him. "I can change your hair color and style, as well as eye color - hopefully that'll be enough." She was about to point her wand at his hair, but his hand shot out and stopped her.

Malfoy promptly stood and unholstered his wand. "Granger, I am perfectly capable of putting the glamours on myself."

Hermione huffed, then crossed her arms and looked up at him. "Fine."

Draco pointed his wand at himself and Hermione watched as his appearance gradually changed. His hair darkened to a chestnut brown and grew out so that it was now layered and artfully styled. He turned his eyes brown as well, and to her surprise, darkened his skin to a bronzy tan. For only changing a few features, she had to admit, she could hardly recognize him. If she didn't already know that it was Draco Malfoy standing in her office, she would think he was a complete stranger.

Once done, he turned his head side to side and waited for her approval. She gave a small nod, cleared her throat and turned back to her desk.

Just then, the door opened and Markus strolled in.

* * *

Harry shoved his notes into a folder and sprinted from his office to make his meeting on time. His hand-picked special task force was waiting for him to brief them on their assignment to find whoever was threatening Hermione.

After speaking to Hermione and some of the other people in her company, he still had no idea what might've caused someone to make such a threat. He needed help and he needed Aurors he could trust in the field.

As he hurried down the hall, his thoughts darted back to Hermione and he wondered how she and Malfoy were getting along. Hopefully the tension he'd felt in the room when he left had eased, but he knew that was wishful thinking. Those two would tear each other apart. He was sure of it. That was one more reason to find this person as quickly as possible.

Bounding into the boardroom, he took the only empty seat left and looked over the assembled group. Normally, there wouldn't be such a large team assigned to one task. But, Harry's new position and the fact that Hermione was who she was, allowed him a couple of extra hands.

To his right sat his assistant, Sandra, who was dutifully there to take notes and make any arrangements needed for the group. Sitting on her right was Stanley, a veteran of the Auror office. Stanley was a fearless Auror whom Harry had studied under for some of his training. On the other side of the table to Harry's left were two of the best Aurors Harry knew, Aurors who usually worked on an entirely different continent.

Paul and Justin were Aurors from the Australia Auror office who'd been sent to retrieve and restore the memories of Hermione's parents after the Battle of Hogwarts. When Harry and Hermione travelled to Australia to see her parents, they had been met by Paul and Justin when they arrived. Hermione and Justin hit it off immediately. The two were almost inseparable during the trip, and later kept in regular contact after she left. When Justin visited England, he and Hermione always made plans to see each other. Harry often thought there was more going on between them, but both denied this and always insisted they were just friends. After Hermione and Ron broke up, Hermione rarely dated and Harry wondered what was holding her back.

Nevertheless, when Justin heard about the threats to Hermione, he had insisted on portkeying immediately to England with Paul to help Harry solve the case and make sure Hermione stayed safe. Justin was everyone's first choice to be Hermione's body guard, but he and Harry both agreed he was better off doing what he did best, and that was catching bad guys.

Even now, Justin was leaning forward, both fists pressing on the table, his gaze steady on Harry. Whatever he felt, Harry was sure no one wanted to catch the unsub as much as Harry did. He cleared his throat.

"Right. Let's get started."

* * *

Thanks again to Moot, for helping out with this chapter! It wouldn't be nearly as great without you.

Follow/Favorite and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter or J.K. Rowling's work, just the plot to this story.

Chapter 3

Markus sauntered into the office and headed straight for Granger's desk without so much as a glance in Draco's direction.

"Hermione, my darling! I've missed you!"

Markus appeared to be in his early thirties and was very well groomed - Draco supposed many women would consider him handsome. He wore a three-piece suit in charcoal grey and shiny black dress shoes. His dark brown hair was cut and styled with enough product in it to rival Draco's days at Hogwarts.

Instead of sitting in a chair across the desk from Granger, Markus sat on her desk, close enough that she had tilted her chair away to look up at him. Draco noticed her cheeks turned pink. Markus didn't notice.

Before she could greet him, Markus rushed into telling her stories of his recent trip to Paris. He bragged about the connections he made, the places he went, and told her about several women who'd fawned over him. Draco doubted any of what he said actually happened. A particularly funny story about him denying a woman's invitation to dinner three times made Draco snort, which he instantly regretted.

Granger shot him a glare, one that would have rivaled any from their days in school, and pursed her lips. But, before he could glare back, Markus had turned his attention to Draco and was looking extremely displeased to find him there. Markus sized him up with a narrowed gaze while Granger introduced them.

"Markus, this is David. He's my temporary body guard. Someone sent a threatening letter to me yesterday and, while they are looking for the culprit, the Auror office has assigned him to me – as a precaution." She sighed.

Markus' eyebrows rose as he gasped, a hand placed over his heart.

"A threatening letter? Sent to you? Oh, my! How awful!"

Draco rolled his eyes at his melodrama.

"Yes, quite," she said. "Hopefully, this will be resolved quickly and I can have my privacy back very soon," she said as she shot Draco another glare.

"Well you know I'm here if you need me," he said as he placed his hand on hers.

"I'll be fine." She quickly withdrew her hand from under his. "Besides, that's what David's for."

Markus looked at Draco and assessed him once more. Seemingly satisfied that he didn't need to be threatened by Draco's presence, Markus shrugged and turned his attention back to Granger.

Draco stared out the window for several minutes, tuning out what the other man in the room was saying until he heard Granger's slightly raised voice.

"Lunch?" she asked, hesitating.

Draco wondered if she would join him. She looked tired and slightly annoyed with Markus, but after a quick glance at Draco, she accepted his invitation.

* * *

She didn't want to go to lunch with Markus. He was very touchy and always got in her personal space. He had asked her out to dinner several times in the past and Hermione had repeatedly but politely refused - but lunch was harder to turn down since it was inevitable she would take one at some point during the day.

Markus was good at his job, which is why she put up with him, but after declining his invitation several times, she thought he would have taken the hint that she wasn't interested in a relationship outside of work. Nonetheless, since she wanted to keep a good working relationship, she agreed to go.

As she stood up she realized this would be a good opportunity to see how Malfoy would interact and work in a public setting. If he wasn't up to it, it would be good to know now, so that they could find a replacement.

Markus followed her to the door and helped her into her coat. When Malfoy stood to follow them, Markus stopped and turned to Hermione.

"Does he have to come with us?"

"Yes, of course. He wouldn't be much of a bodyguard if he wasn't with me all the time."

"What about when you're home?" he asked looking alarmed at the sudden realization.

"'All the time' includes when I'm at home."

Markus looked troubled, maybe even jealous, but she chose to ignore it and headed out the door.

The three of them left the building and headed towards Diagon Alley, Hermione and Markus a few feet ahead of Malfoy, who never let anyone step between her and himself. She hated to admit it, but so far, Malfoy seemed like he knew what he was doing.

Markus chose a French restaurant, claiming he missed the food from Paris already. The hostess sat them at a small table in the back. Malfoy stood by the wall near the table a few feet away. She wondered why he chose to stand instead of sitting in one of the seats.

When the waiter came over to take their order, he threw a sideways look at Malfoy standing against the wall. No one explained, so he took their order and ignored Malfoy. That was odd, but Hermione brushed it off and proceeded to listen to Markus' non-stop prattle.

Hermione was happy when the food arrived; she was hungry and thought it would cut down on the amount of talking Markus could do. He still managed to speak between each bite, which dragged their lunch out longer than she wanted. She was amazed by his ability to keep up the conversation without her participating at all.

Hermione had finished eating and noticed that Markus had only eaten about half of his meal. She spent several minutes silently wishing that there was a way to hurry him up so they could leave. She tried to take over the conversation, but after he interrupted her for the third time so that he could talk about himself some more, she gave up.

She decided instead to look around the restaurant. She watched the staff work and watched the other patrons, and tried hard not to watch Malfoy. But as hard as she tried, she found she couldn't stop glancing at him. He was still standing in the exact position. His legs stood hip-width apart and he had his hand clasped behind his back. He made only the slightest movement when his eyes shifted constantly around the restaurant.

Her attention was brought back to Markus when he mentioned her upcoming trip to Spain and she was grateful for the change in subject. She honestly couldn't recall what he had been talking about previously. Hermione loved that she got to travel for work. Traveling the world was always something she wanted to do, and this job helped accomplish that.

"Will you still be going, given your current situation?" Markus asked.

"I don't think it will be a problem. This account is very important for us. I know the company will be in good hands while I'm gone," she said giving him a weak smile.

After Markus was finally done, he insisted on paying, and they all headed back to the office. Hermione feared Markus would come back to her office, but he admitted he needed to get some work done and Hermione was grateful. Once safely inside her office, she let out a huge sigh as she sat back down at her desk. She was about to pick up the file she was looking at before lunch, when the object of her distraction earlier, once again, caught her attention.

Malfoy was seated again on the couch. He hadn't spoken a word since Markus appeared and she found that strange. Surely he had something to say about the outing they just had, or the very least about Markus. She was expecting judgments and ridicule and found this silent, observing Malfoy to be quite unnerving. She watched as he once again picked up her copy of, _Hogwarts, A History,_ and proceeded to read as if the last hour hadn't happened.

She silently watched him read until, with his eyes still on the page he was on, he said. "I don't know how you plan on getting any work done if you're just going to stare at me."

Her body stiffened like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but her shock quickly wore off.

"I'm not used to having someone in my office with me. I'm used to peace and quiet while I work."

"Is my page turning too loud for you? I would've thought you'd find that soothing." Malfoy looked up from the book with his signature smirk in place.

Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of catching her ruffled, she quickly responded, "It's not the quiet that's being disturbed, it's the peace."

"So the only peace you get is when you're alone? I'm sorry to break it to you Granger, but you're in for a really lonely life, then."

"Being alone and being lonely are not the same thing, I like to work alone. There's nothing wrong with that," she huffed.

"If you say so," he replied, as he went back to reading.

* * *

It had been a long day assigning tasks and going over the finer details of the case. Harry was keeping his confidence as best he could as he and the others set off in their own directions for the remainder of the day. He sent an owl to Ginny explaining that he would be home late and to not wait up for him.

Justin and Paul had just left to settle into temporary lodgings set up by Sandra. Stanley was somewhere in the Ministry - Harry suspected the café - and Sandra was dutifully still at her desk. Harry often felt badly over the amount of work Sandra had to do as his assistant. Ginny was constantly reminding Harry that not everyone took their work home with them, and that some people had lives outside of the Ministry, but Sandra was always there with a good attitude, and was always very helpful.

Harry knew that he was in for a long night of settling into the case, as he was every time he started a new one. This was his ritual. He would arrange the case information board that would include what they knew so far, and what he wanted to find out. He would pin up a map of important places involved with the case, along with a suspect list, and any other evidence collected. He would then stare at it until he felt he was fully submersed and focused on the case.

Before he got started, he told Sandra that she could head home and he would see her in the morning. She sighed a thank you, knowing very well what Harry was about to do. Not only did she not want to sit around for it, she looked like she wanted to tell him to go home too. She would often chastise him for not returning home at a decent hour to Ginny. Between those two and Hermione, Harry was nagged about putting too much into his job on a regular basis.

As soon as she left Harry grabbed a fresh cup of coffee - courtesy of Sandra - and got to it.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long delay! I'm really, really, REALLY trying to get these chapters out faster. I hope you are still enjoying it and will stick with me!

Please follow/favorite/review!

As always, thank you Moot!


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